A powerful nor'easter wreaked havoc Tuesday across the Mohawk Valley, closing down businesses and schools, canceling events and causing headaches for motorists and others throughout the region.

Law enforcement were assisting as best they could and scanner reports indicated that more than a few individuals were being evacuated from disabled vehicles throughout the area Tuesday afternoon.

“Pretty much everything lined up perfectly for this to take a direct hit on Central New York,” WUTR Chief Meteorologist Rachael Witter said. “We had cold come in (Monday) night from the north and west and then the moisture came up from the south (Tuesday) morning and it’s still being thrown at us through the next 24 to 48 hours. So it’s kind of two storm systems that came together and put us right in the line of fire.”

Just how much snow the region had received through Tuesday afternoon wasn’t immediately available, but Witter said the region could see somewhere between 14 and 24 inches. Otsego County could get somewhere between 20 and 30 inches of snow, she said, with the possibility for some spots to see more than 3 feet.

“This will probably be the biggest widespread storm we’ve had in five, 10 years,” Witter said.

The weather caused several municipalities and counties to institute travel bans and snow emergencies. For instance, offices for Oneida County, Utica and Rome closed at 1 p.m. Tuesday, while CENTRO announced it was suspending all service as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. Bus service was expected to start again during regular hours Wednesday, weather permitting.

WKTV Meteorologist Bill Kardas said that the snow totals were changing constantly, making the snowfall tallies difficult to keep up-to-date.

"It's been well over a foot in some (places), in most. In some places it's been over two feet (of snow)," Kardas said.

As of 4 p.m., Kardas said that at least 18 inches of snow had fallen in Utica with a whopping 27 inches in West Winfield.

By Wednesday night, Kardas was predicting two to three feet of snow as the storm winds down.

Many restaurants and bars, such as Carmella's Cafe in New Hartford and The Celtic Harp in Utica, opted to close early because of concerns over the safety of employees and lack of foot traffic.

Mike Ezzo, owner of Carmella's, said it really wasn't worth putting his employees in danger to stay open for the very few customers they had seen throughout the day.

Some businesses, though, embraced the blizzard-like conditions, staying open and offering specials to those willing to brave the storm.

Since Tramontane Café owner Robin Raabe and her staff were at work before the storm took a turn for the worse, they stayed open to serve the patrons already present and anyone who was stranded and needed a break from the elements.

"Currently, we are a refuge for some folks. We opened at 9 o'clock and had a good morning crew and two of my employees made it in, so we just stayed. We just decided that we would stay until there wasn't anyone left," Raabe said.

Dave Short, commissioner of Utica’s Department of Public Works, said Tuesday afternoon that he had 14 bigger plows out along with some smaller ones and crews planned to stay out all night. He said the biggest issue the department was facing were vehicles that were stuck on the city's street and blocking the plows.

“It’s a little rough out there. I’m having a hard time keeping up,” Short said. “But we’ve got all the plows out plus all our loaders so we’re out and about. But until Mother Nature lessens up, it’s a struggle. We’re going around the clock for the next two days."

Utica police Lt. Bryan Coromato said that police are trying to keep up with the service calls throughout the city and aid stranded vehicles as they encounter them.

"We're out there trying to help wherever we can," Coromato said.

If residents were stranded in their vehicles, Coromato said, they could find a safe haven at the police station or at a firehouse.

In Rome, plows have been struggling to keep up, as well, said Mayor Jacqueline Izzo.

Every time the plows go by, she said, in a few minutes, it just goes back to looking as though nothing had been done.

"Our streets are very good right now, considering the snow is just piling up anyways," she said. "We closed all non-essential city services at 1 to try to get cars off the roads. We'd like as little travel as possible, unless you really have to be out. ... That seems to be working. Our plows will be out all throughout the day and then, of course, we'll do a big cleanup tonight."

Rome has asked for all cars to be off the street by 11 p.m. to give the plows a chance to clean everything up.

But what do the next couple of days have in store?

Witter said that she thought the system would break up and become more “snow showery” by Wednesday afternoon. She also said winds are expected to pick up Wednesday afternoon. There could be blowing and drifting snow, visibility issues and possible power outages as a result.

“So we’ll probably get a little bit of a break (Wednesday) afternoon, (Wednesday) evening, but lake effect is still going to be in the forecast Thursday, too,” she said. “It isn’t going to be crippling lake effect and not really those super-organized bans that kind of take over.

“It’s not going to be like one of those North Country storms or anything like that with the lake effect, but it’s going to come off the lake,” Witter added. “It’s going to be colder, so we’ll keep adding to it through Thursday. We’re finally quiet Friday.”

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